Crystal Clash
Chapter 25 Drilling to the Cluster
By: Major144
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
At the barn Steven woke with a start as the ground began to violently shake. Connie, Peridot, Lapis, Cherry, Scarlet, and Lapis were just barely managing to keep their balance as the ground shook. The gems and human each had a freaked out worried look on their faces. Peridot noticed that Steven was awake.
"If you're done just lying there, maybe it's about time that we stop the world from ending! Where are the others?"
"They're stuck on Mask Island. We have to drill without them!" Said Steven as he stood up.
"Ugh! Am I the only one who understands the meaning of teamwork?! Okay, everyone, are you ready to drill down into the planet to depths never before reached by humans to stop the Cluster before it forms and save this world?!" Said Peridot as she stood next to the drill and faced everyone.
"I don't know!" Said Steven looking unsure.
"Hey...we can do this." Said Connie as she put a comforting hand on Steven's shoulder
"I'm going to punch the Cluster in the face!" Declared Cherry as she threw a few practice punches in the air.
"Well your enthusiasm is greatly appreciated, though I doubt your punches will actually do much." Said Peridot as she got into the drill's cockpit.
"I hate being trapped in small places, but I want to help save the Earth." Said Lapis as she got into the drill followed by the others.
It was a bit of a tight fit, but the four gems and two humans managed to squeeze into the cockpit. Peridot started the drill.
"Ready or not, we have a mission." Said Peridot as the drill hit the ground.
"The mission is a go!" Shouted Scarlet as the drill began to drill into the ground and through the earth.
The drill went through the Earth's crust. Peridot said it would take them a couple of hours before they reached the mantle. As they traveled each member of group was feeling a little uncomfortable, both with the tight quarts and the seriousness of the mission.
"It's kinda... freaky down here, huh?" Said Steven breaking the silence.
"Why's that?" Asked Peridot.
"It's just dark, and cramped... Ngah, I can't even, gah, stretch out." Said Steven as she tried to stretch out but couldn't.
"How'd you think you were gonna get everyone in here anyway? I mean it's really tight with just us in here and we're all fairly short." Said Connie.
"I don't know, they'd shrink or something. We didn't have a lot of time to plan." Said Peridot looking a little frustrated.
"So...what is the plan?" Asked Lapis.
"We have a drill. We're going to drill. Get ready - we're about to penetrate the asthenosphere!" Said Peridot.
The drill shuddered as it dug through and entered the asthenosphere. Steven and Connie looked out the window and saw what appeared to be lava.
"Whoa, it's all lava!" Said Steven with awe.
"Lava is what comes out of volcanoes. That's super-heated peridotite." Explained Peridot.
"Peridot...ite?" Asked Steven.
"Yeah. It's made of the same stuff as peridots." Said Peridot with a small smile.
"You were made on Homeworld, right?" Asked Steven.
"Mmhm." Replied Peridot.
"The rest of you were made on Homeworld to?" Asked Connie.
"Yep." Said Lapis.
"Affirmative." Said Scarlet.
"We're Homeworld gems after all." Said Cherry.
"What was it like, when you were first made?" Asked Steven.
"I didn't exist. Then I did. I don't have memories of it, just feelings. I know I can never go back to Homeworld, but it's hard. Not to have some feelings for where you came from." Said Peridot sounding sad.
"I know what you mean. I just remember emerging out of a hole and Blue Diamond standing before me and studying me. I remember feeling a sense of pride and belonging, when I saw Blue Diamond, but then...after my imprisonment I began to see those feelings were just hollow and meaningless." Said Lapis sounding sad herself.
"We came into being the same time as Ruby. The three of us were gathered up along with a bunch of other rubies, we were given numbers and told that we were simply soldiers, who simply existed to serve and fight." Said Scarlet.
"None of us can go back to Homeworld." Said Cherry saying what the other gems were feeling.
Peridot faced Steven, revealing a tear welling in the corner of her left eye. She quickly wiped it off.
"But it's fine! I think I speak for the others, when I say we have something different now, then we did back on Homeworld." Said Peridot.
"What's that?" Asked Connie.
"You know! You... guys. I value all...of you...and I think your all worth protecting." Said Peridot
This made all the others smile a little bit. Then there was a banging from atop the drill that made everyone look up with fear and confusion.
"What's that sound?" Asked Lapis looking a little nervous.
A red hand suddenly appeared and pushed against the glass of the window. Steven and Connie both helped in surprise and pressed back away from the window.
"A gem mutant!" The children both cried.
"Oh yeah time for a smack down." Said Cherry as she pounded her fist together ready for a fight.
More gem mutants suddenly appeared on the drill and began to bang on it.
"They must've buried some prototypes with the cluster." Gasped Peridot.
"They're all over us! They're attacking the drill! What do we do?" Said Steven with a panicked look on his face.
Peridot answered by pressing a button on the panel. A weaponized CCTV camera projected itself from atop the cockpit, knocking a startled mutant off. A Nintendo 64 controller popped out of the panel and Peridot handed it to Steven.
"Pearl didn't think it was necessary,...but I never leave home without a blast cannon." Said Peridot with a smile.
A screen on the panel lit up and showed footage of the gem mutants were displayed on the panel as an aiming guide. Steven controlled the cannon with the N64 controller, and blasted away the gem mutants knocking them off the drill.
"Something doesn't feel right about this." Said Steven as he watched the gem mutants through the screen.
"Then use the D-pad." Suggested Peridot.
"No, it's just... ngah. These things. We can't just leave their gems out there. They're going to form again later. If I could just bubble them, then, they'd be safe." Said Steven.
"Yeah and we don't want any of them to pop up in a hospital or somewhere else full of people." Said Connie.
"I feel liking catching them." Said Cherry.
"C'mon! We've gotta help them." Said Steven.
"There is no helping them. They're too broken. The beings who used to be in those shards are so shattered, they don't know who they are, or what's happening around them. They just seek out other gems, looking for the missing pieces of themselves. Trying to make themselves whole." Said Peridot.
"Hate to say it, but she's right. Unless we had all their pieces or a way to grow back their structure, we can't really help them right now. Besides we have a planet to save." Said Scarlet.
A red gem mutant hand reached out to the camera. Steven blasted it away.
"These early experiments only combine two or three shards. The cluster will be a billion times bigger. An inseparable fusion capable of destroying worlds, starting with this one." Said Peridot looking grave.
Lapis thought about the gem mutant, she fought as Malachite and a shiver went through her body as she thought about a much larger and uglier version of that creature bursting out of the planet. Scarlet and Cherry also shivered at the thought of the Cluster taking form. The drill then hit some very dense rock.
"We've made it." Said Peridot as the drill made it's way through the Rock and into a large chamber.
The drill clung to the celling as everyone starred down at a large mound of multicolor crystals clumped together to form one massive shape. The team had made it to the Cluster.
To be continued.